redstart Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun flycatching warbler of eastern North America the male having bright orange on sides and wings and tail
    Setophaga ruticilla; American redstart.
  2. noun European songbird with a reddish breast and tail; related to Old World robins
    redtail.

WordNet

Red"start` noun
Etymology
Red + start tail.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) (a) A small, handsome European singing bird (Ruticilla phoenicurus), allied to the nightingale; -- called also redtail, brantail, fireflirt, firetail. The black redstart is P.tithys. The name is also applied to several other species of Ruticilla amnd allied genera, native of India. (b) An American fly-catching warbler (Setophaga ruticilla). The male is black, with large patches of orange-red on the sides, wings, and tail. The female is olive, with yellow patches.

Webster 1913